These delightful giant lemon cookies taste like sweet, sweet sunshine.
Lemon Sugar Cookies
Updated on Jan. 03, 2024
When we think “lemons,” our mouths start to water. We love all kinds of recipes with lemon, but lemon sugar cookies are one of our all-time unexpected favorites.
Sugar cookies aren’t just for winter holidays, though we love them around Christmas too. That’s why we’re showing you how to make this tangy oversized treat (every cookie contains 1/4 cup of dough!). It’s perfect at any time of year.
Ingredients for Lemon Sugar Cookies
- Unsalted butter
- Sugar
- Packed brown sugar
- Eggs
- Lemon zest
- Lemon juice
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cream of tartar
- Coarse sugar
Directions
Step 1: Prep the ingredients
Start by preheating your oven to 350°F. Then, in a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, then the lemon zest and juice.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar. Finish the dough by gradually beating the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture.
Step 2: Form the dough
To make an oversized cookie like this one, you need to use a lot of dough! Shape 1/4 cupfuls of dough into balls and place them 6 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Use a drinking glass or the bottom of a measuring cup to flatten the cookies to a 3/4-inch thickness. Lightly brush the top of each cookie with water, then sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Step 3: Bake cookies
Pop the baking sheets in the oven and bake until the lemon cookies are a light brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Let them rest for a few minutes before moving them to wire racks to cool completely.
Editor’s Tip: Instead of greasing your baking sheets, try lining ’em with parchment paper for perfect cookies every time.
How to Store Lemon Sugar Cookies
You can store any leftovers—although we doubt there will be any—in airtight containers at room temperature. Your cookies will stay fresh and soft for up to a week.
Lemon Sugar Cookies Tips
How do I make sure my lemon sugar cookies are soft?
Avoid over-baking the cookies. The centers may look a little underbaked, but the moment the edges are set and just barely showing color, it’s time to take these beauties out of the oven. The centers will finish baking on the pan as the cookies cool.
How do I get more lemon flavor in lemon sugar cookies?
Want a stronger lemon flavor? Add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract to give these a boost.
Giant Lemon Sugar Cookies
Prep Time
25 min
Cook Time
15 min
Yield
14 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1-1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 4 teaspoons coarse sugar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in eggs. Beat in lemon zest and juice. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar; gradually beat into creamed mixture.
- Shape 1/4 cupfuls of dough into balls. Place 6 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Flatten to 3/4-in. thickness with bottom of a measuring cup. Lightly brush tops with water; sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Bake until light brown, 12-15 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Store in airtight containers.
Nutrition Facts
1 cookie: 340 calories, 14g fat (8g saturated fat), 65mg cholesterol, 147mg sodium, 51g carbohydrate (31g sugars, 1g fiber), 4g protein.
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These wonderfully chewy cookies have a light lemon flavor from both the juice and zest. The sanding sugar on top adds sparkle and a bit of crunch. —Michael Vyskocil, Glen Rock, Pennsylvania
Recipe Creator
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